As previously noted, the executive order that created this program is full of problems. Further commentary has continued to remark about the suspect legality of this program. See here and here.

But a possible something is better than nothing, and so Wisconsin has applied for benefits under this program.

For Wisconsin, only those who receive $100 or more in unemployment benefits of some kind will be eligible for the additional $300 in Lost Wage Assistance. As a result, the working poor are left out of this program. Luckily, because the minimum weekly benefit rate for PUA in Wisconsin is $163, those claimants will be eligible for Lost Wage Assistance benefits.

Note: WPR reports that 15,000 claimants are likely to lose out on Lost Wage Assistance when it becomes available because their weekly benefit rate is less than $100.

Still, with Wisconsin in such an administrative mess regarding unemployment, the Department does not expect to pay out any Lost Wage Assistance until late October 2020 at the earliest for benefits tied to the first three weeks of August 2020. That is, there is a three month wait before any Lost Wage Assistance benefits will actually be paid out.

As usual, Wisconsin also is pursuing an extremely limited and narrow reading of this benefit program. Here is the new welcome screen a claimant sees after connecting to his or her portal:

First, claimants need to indicate they have lost work because of the pandemic to be potentially eligible for Lost Wage Assistance benefits. But, the Department is implying in this threshold question that only those who have lost work after August 1st for a specific Covid-19 related reason qualify. So, folks who lost work before August 1st are likely to answer “no” and be declared ineligible for this program when they should answer “yes.”

Note: how does a claimant change his or her answer to this question? I have no idea.

Second, the Department will apply a very restrictive view of the pandemic-related reasons for being eligible for this benefit. Basically, the Department is requiring one of the reasons specified in this chart to exist, and a general loss of work — either wholly or partially — is not listed here. As a result, the Department is denying numerous claims even though both employer and employee indicate the layoff is pandemic-related.

Finally and most problematic, clicking “yes” or “no” does nothing but bring the claimant to his or her regular portal welcome screen. There are no additional questions or information about the Lost Wage Assistance program. Hence, the claimant has no idea what the answer meant or how and why it is recorded. This question and warning screen is essentially meaningless to the claimant.

Indeed, the Department’s guidance about the Lost Wage Assistance program offers absolutely no description of this question and why it is being asked or how to answer it. As usual, claimants need to guess at what the Department wants from them.

Update (10 Sept. 2020): Added info from WPR about the number of people in Wisconsin who will not be eligible for Lost Wage Assistance because their weekly benefit rate is less than $100.